O'Connors chase prize in Connacht

A NEW generation of golfers bearing the surname of the famous O'Connor elan will grace the fairways of Galway Golf Club next weekend when the Connacht Youths Amateur Open Championship the second youths' major of the season takes place.

Nigel, a first year law student at Portobello College, and Darren, a 15 year old student at Yeats College, are sons of Ryder Cup hero Christy Junior and grand nephews of Himself, Christy Senior. And the duo, playing out of the Galway Bay club designed by their father, will take on the country's rising young stars in the quest for the Ken Cunningham Memorial Quo.

The O'Connor brothers cut their competitive teeth by guiding Galway Bay to the national final of the Irish Junior Cup in Tramore last autumn (where they lost to a highly rated Stackstown team; Irish boys' champion Mark Campbell, who inspired the Dublin side on that occasion, will be back to haunt them this weekend), and the two four handicappers are competing in the Connacht Youths for the first time.

"We're looking forward to the championship," admitted Nigel. "It should be good fun and it is nice to keep the old family name going, especially in top amateur competitions. I played in boys' championships for the past couple of years, and I've been playing quite a lot of golf since Easter, so hopefully I can give a good account."

The cream of Irish underage golf will be competing in the 72 hole championship (the top 51 players from Saturday's two round programme qualify for Sunday's final 36 holes).

Ballyclare's Johnny Foster, a student at Queen's University, is seeking to claim his second title of the season - he won the Munster Youths at Douglas last week. But the Ulster player faces another tough examination, with the likes of Campbell, Paul Byrne, Ciaran McMonagle, Rory Leonard, Nigel Howley and Patrick Collier among a host of top young players chasing the crown.